Pressure-controlling device.



W. C. SIMMONS.

PRESSURE CONTROLLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 1I. 1914.

Patented De@ 12, 19.116.

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lbs-I W. C. SIMMONS.

APRESSUREC0111'110LL111G DEVICE. APPLlcMlo'N HL'ED :uw Il. 1914.

Patented Deo. 12, 1916.

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WALTER C. SIMMONS, 0F KENTON, OHIO.

PRESSURE-CONTROLLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.. 12, 1916.

Appli-cation led .Tuly 11, 1914. Serial No. 850,529.

To all whom t may conce/m.'

Be it known that I, WALTER C. SIMMONS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenton, in the county of Hardin and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Universal-Pressure Gas-Controlling Device; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a new and useful universal pressure controlling device for gas, steam, air, water or other iiuids and the like, but in the present instance the same is illustrated, set forth and claimed for use in connection with branches of gas mains, and the invention aims as one of its objects to pro vide a device of this design, which is simple in construction, and efficient and practical in use.

Another object of the invention is to improve and render more practical and eflicient the construction of the gas controlling device of the Patent No. 959,397, patented May 24, 191() issued to Walter C. Simmons.

Tn practical fields the details of construction may be subjected to alterations, falling within the scope of what is claimed.

The invention comprises further features and combination ofv parts, as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

ln the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the universal pressure gas controlling device, showing the parts under certain conditions of gas pressure. Fig. 2 is a similar' view showing the operating parts in different positions, having responded to other conditions of gas pressure. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the primary shut off and controller valve. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the secondary shut off and controller valve. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the valve 36 on an enlarged scale.

Referring more especially to the drawings, 1 designates a gas main, from which a lateral branch 2 extends, which is threaded at 3 into the casing 4 of the universal pressure gas controlling device, from the opposite side of which another branch section 5 eX- tends, which enters a building (not shown). The casing of the gas controlling device is provided with an inlet chamber 6 comprising two compartments 7 and 8, there being an opening in the wall 9 between said two compartments, which opening is provided with a screening means 10, designed for the purpose of preventing foreign particles, dirt or the like from passing into the compartment 7 of said inlet chamber. Such foreign particles, dirt or the like that may be caught by the screening means as the gas or the like passes into the chamber 6 from the branch 2, settles in the compartment 8, and these foreign particles of dirt may be removed in any suitable manner (not shown). Below the chamber 6 is an intermediate chamber 12. This chamber 12 is entitled intermediate chamber by reason of the fact that it is arranged between the lower outlet chamber 13 and the upper outlet chamber 14, and the chamber 6. Threaded into the wall 15 between the chamber 6 and the chamber 12 is a sleeve member 16 having an annular eXtension flange 17, which extends beyond the upper face of the wall 15, and the periphery of this flange constitutes a valve seat 18, with which the primary shut offl Valve 19 coperates. This primary shut off valve has a circumferential angular flange constituting a primary shut off valve sealing cap 20, to .extend down and around the flange 17 into the oil cup or basin 21, thereby insuring a sealing connection when the primary shut off valve is closed. The primary shut off valve 19 is carried by a valve rod 22, which is guided in the bearing 23 of a web of the sleeve member 16. The valve rod 22 below the sleeve member 16 is provided with a primary pressure controlling valve 24, to cov operate with the primary pressure controlling valve seat 25. When the primary shut ofi:I valve 19 is entirely open, the primary pressure controller valve 24 is entirely closed and vice versa.

The lower end of the valve rod 22 has a slot and pin connection 26 with the lever 27, which is pivoted at 28 to the inner wall of the intermediate chamber 12. The lever 27 at its free end in turn has a slot and pin connection 29 with the compound valve rod 30 mounted in bearings or guides 31 and 32 of the web of the sleeve members 33 and 34. The sleeve member 33 is threaded in the lower horizontal portion of the wall 35 which divides the lower outlet chamber 13 and the intermediate chamber 12, while the sleeve member 34 is threaded in that portion ofthe wall 15, which divides the upper Outlet chamber 14 and the intermediate chamberlQ. rlhe compound valve rod carries the secondary shut off yvalve 36, the secondary pressure controlling valve 37, the lower shut olf valve 38, and the lower pressure or controlling valve 39, as shown. The

' sleeve kmember/34 has a valve seat 40, with serapeholf the dirt and foreign matter'from the valves.. hisslightly tapered self-clean- .ing `feature inconjunctionwith the seal cap preferably forms a particular part of the safety shut off valve and'is essential thereto, thereby making the ysafety shut off valve self-sealing against pressure.v Moreover by this` slightly tapeld featurelthe safety shut off valve may nd perfectly snug lfit in its seatleverytiine it is actuated.l The taper 0f said valve or, valves is to be substantially three degrees, it beingunderstood that applicant is netto be confined to the exact ydegree of taper. vThe sleeve member 34 has an additional valveseat yfor the secondary pressure controlling" y,valye 37. AThe valv'e37 is designed to engage the lower pressure oontrolling valve seat 46 when the valve 36is entirelyxopemand the valve 36 engages its seatwhen the valve`37 is entirely open and viceversa. Thesleeve member 33 is pro- ,vided with a an'e 47 whichrises above the i i l H r y v surface 48Iof the wallI 35there being an oil gutter, cup or basin 49v as Qshown. This flange 47 Vhas a lower shut oi'fvalfve seaty 50 .with `which. theuvalve 38 cooperates or en- ,gageswhen the valve .39 is entirely opened. tVlhenthe,lower shut off valve 38 engages .tutesv a =lower shut ,off valve lseal cap 52) engagesdownoyerand, around the flange 47 ofv thelsleeyve member f33fand extends into ,the oil inthe, oil gutter;49, thereby making y ,a sealing connection with the seat 50. The lower *pressurel controlling. valve copferatesiwith vthe lower` pressure controller l,valye'seat 53, when.v the valve 38 is entirely i open., TQQ@ yiliiper end 'of' the valve rod la link54f`is pivotally,conneet'ed, the upper end'of which is pivoted at 55 to the lever 56 pivoted at 57. This lever 56 is in turn pivoted to the link 59, connected at 60 to the lever 61, which 1s pivoted at 62. The

"lever 104:'

endy 63 of the lever 61 has a link connection 64 to a pin 65, which is threaded into the weight member 66, which is carried by the diaphragm 67 secured in the casing as shown at 68. A lock nut 69 holds the pin 65 securely in threaded connection with the weight. The weight member 66 is provided with a knob 70, which passes through an opening inthe upper pressure weight 7l, which is supported above the weight member 66. rlhe upper pressure weight 71 when lowered owing to the requisite vibration of the diaphragm'67 engages and rests upon the pins 72 ofthe easing. The controller cap enclosure member 7 3 is secured in Aplace by the' thumb nuts 74, which are threaded uponthe rods 7 These rods 75 are mounted in the lugs 7 6, and secured in place by the nuts 77. The controller cap or closure 73 isfprovided with an opening 78, through which the'rod 79 extends. rlChe upper end of thefrod 7 9 has a laterally extending arm 80, which is designed to havee-lectrical con nections with the arm 81 on the top ofthe cap 7 3,"when the diaphragm 67 vibrates downwardly. These arms 80 and 81 are in circuit with the usual form of battery and bell 83 and 84, by virtue of the wires 85 and"4 86. lWhen thev diaphragm vibrates downwardly the two arms 80 and 81 contact, thereby closing an electric Circuit through the wires and the battery, in order to sound thealarm. The main object 'of this alarm is to give warning the instant the gas ceases toflow from any cause when the controller is used in connection with gas mains or the like.' y

Extending from the easing 4 of the controller' and communicating with the chamber 14 is a reverse pressure line pipe 88, which extends into a control box 89 having a glassfroiit 90. This glass front is in the formfof a door hinged at 91 having a padlo'ck' fastening'l in order to prevent uuauthorized persons from tampering with the pressure 'equalizing and safety shut off release valves 95 and 96, the pressure equalizingvalv'e beingy provided with an exhaustport 97. lThe valve 95 is located in the'` pressure 'equalizing line pipe 98, while the safety shut olf release valve 96 is located in the high pressure line pipe 99. The presfsure equaliy'ii'ig line pipe 98 and the high 'pressure' line p1pe949, beyond the valves 95 and 96 are united by suitable union or fittings through the reverse pressure lin'e pipe 88;` A short pipe 10() having a valve 101 '3'onne'ets the"reverse pressure line pipe 88 andthe pressure equalizing pipe 98, by ineans of suitable fittings 10Q. The stem of the valve 101'is'provided'with a` weighted 'his lever -is held in a substan tially vertical position normally, by means of a fusible link 105 which connects to the pipe 98, thereby normally holding the valve 101 closed. This valve is designed to automatically shut olf the gas supply from passing through the controller, and only operates when the temperature about the controller reaches 150 degrees or over, thus causing the fusible link 105 to melt, in which case the lever 104 is released. l/Vhen released, the lever freely drops almost to a horizontal position, thereby gaining efficient power from the velocity obtained to force the valve 101 open, regardless of sticking from lack of use, thus permitting the gas from the chamber 14: to pass into the chamber 120, thereby equalizing the gas pressure in said chambers 11i and 120. ln this case the diaphragm instantly drops or vibrates downwardly, thereby forcing the shut off valves into action. rlhe particular obj ect of this shut off is to prevent the gas from entering the building in case of re, or in case the tir-e should be so great that the outside shut on', that which is inclosed in the controller box 89, could not be operated by hand.

JV hen the safety shut off valve 95 is operated, the diaphragm 67 and the weight 66 lowers in order to allow the cap seals 20 and 52 to drop into the oil that surrounds the valve seats, at which time the seal cap 114 also drops into its oil pocket. l/Vhen the valves and all other parts are in position as shown in Fig. 1, the gas is passing through the compound valve openings from the inlet to the outlet side of the controller with from two ounces to two hundred and fifty pounds pressure or over to the square inch, on the inlet or fluctuating side, and an even two ounce or four ounce pressure on the outlet side, the pressure on the outlet side being governed by the size and the gravity of the weight 71.

No matter how great the fluctuations of the pressure on the inlet side of the controller are, it has no influence on the even pressure of the outlet side. When the weight 71 is intended to allow a two ounce pressure to pass through the outlet side, and the pressure on the inlet side is two ounces or less, the weight 71 lowers until it rests upon the supporting pins 72, holding the diaphragm G7 and weight 66 down so that the levers attached to the diaphragm, as shown, will throw the compound valves wide open. All the parts remain in such positions to allow all the pressure or supply to pass freely through the valves, until the inlet pressure either increases or decreases. lf the inlet pressure should decrease to a point below one-half ounce to the square inch, or ceases entirely, the diaphragm 67 and weight 66 instantly drop or vibrate downwardly, leaving the weight 71 resting upon the supporting pins 72, thereby causing the multiplicity of levers connected between the upper end of the rod 30 and the weight 66 to operate in such wise as to cause the shut olf valves 19, 38, 3G and their corresponding sealing caps to close and engage their seats and be insured of a snug and sealing fit, owing to the sealing oil pockets or gutters, thus providing a double shut off and seal against the passage of any increase or return pressure that may later enter the inlet chamber G, regardless of how great this pressure may be, until the controller is manually or mechanically put again in action. This can be accomplished mechanically by slightly opening the globe valve 96 or safety shut off release valve, and allowing it to remain open just long enough for sufficient pressure to pass from the inlet chamber 6 through the pipe 99, valve 96 and through the pipe 8S into the upper outlet chamber 1dr-, in order to force the vibrating diaphragm 67 and weights 66 and 71 upwardly until the multiplicity of levers, which connect the valve rod 30 to the diaphragm, draw the pressure controller valves Q11-, and 37 tight against their seats. The release of these safety shut off valves may be attained manually by keeping the safety sluit ofl' release valve 96 closed, and by pulling upwardly upon the rod 79, the pressure controller valves will be forced closed and kept in such positions so long as no gas is being used from the out-'ret side. ln

pulling up upon the rod 79, the diaphragm 67 is vibrated upwardly. This diaphragm may be vibrated upwardly by removing the controller cap or closure, and pulling upon the knob 70, that is, when the rod 79 and its electrical connections with the battery and bell are not used.

W hen a single burner is opened from the supply line on the outlet side the pressure controller valves will instantly open just enough to feed the single burner at an even two ounce pressure. When more burner valves are opened, these pressure controller valves open accordingly, to feed all the additional burners at the same even two ounce pressure. lf all but one of these burner valves (not shown) should be closed, so that a less quantity of gas is being used from the outlet side accordingly, the diaphragm 67 will be raised so that said levers will close the pressure controller valves just enough to allow only sufficient gas to pass into the outlet chambers 13 and la in order to feed the single burner at an even two ounce pressure. When this remaining burner is closed, so that no gas is being used from the outlet side, the vibrating diaphragm 67 will be raised still farther and force all of the pressure controller valves tightly closed again. 'lhus it will be seen that the em bodiment of the pressure controller valves with. their lever connections to the diaphragm, make it impossible for more than a two ounce or four ounce pressure, as the case may be, from ever passing into the out- All() let side of the controller, from its inlet side, no matter how great or uneven the pressure lmay be on the inlet side.

rlhe pressure can be instantly shut off at any time, so that no gas can pass to the outlet side of the controller by pulling upon the valve handle of the pressure equalizing valve 95, thus allowing the pressure to pass from the upper outlet chamber 14 through the reverse pressure line pipe 88, then through the valve 95 and the pressure equalizing line pipe 98 into the weight chamber 19.0, thereby causing the pressure in this chamber to equalize with that in the chamber lll. lVhen the pressure is thus equa-lized in these two, chambers 120 and 14, there is nothing to hold the diaphragm 67 and the weights 66 and 71 up, so that their weight compels them to drop or gravitate and force the lever connections downwardly to close the shut off valves, so that a new supply of pressure cannot enter either the chambers 14 and 120 or the pipes 88 and 98.

When the valve 95 is closed as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the exhaust port or opening 97 serves as a breathing port for the pressure from the chamber 120 through the pipe 98 to allow free action of the diaphragm 67.

The pipes 99, 8S and 98 with the manifold and the pressure control box, may or may not be installed as a part of this controller equipment, according to the desires of the purchaser, or as deemed necessary. But when installed, as a part of the controller outlit, these pipes and pressure controller box may be placed any distance or direction from the controller, either within or outside the building, to serve in cases of emergency or as a convenience, with the box locked, so that no unauthorized person can tamper with the valves at any time. It will be noted that this controller with all its working parts inclosed in a case, has a decided advantage over other pressure regulators that depend upon weighted arms extending outside of the regulator proper, that may be manipulated or thrown out of adjustment by some unauthorized person, or through some accident, which will cause trouble. It also should be noted that, unlike other high pressure regulators or controllers, that the present one has no stutling boxes or other frictional parts to cause bind* ing or prevent free action of all the working cooperating parts at all times.

It should be noted that when there is an excess pressure in the chamber 12 that there is a tendency to press upwardly upon the secondary pressure controlling valve 37, forcing it tightly against its seat and making it diilicult to open. But this cannot occur because the same excess pressure is at the same time pressing downwardly on the lower pressure controlling valve 39 to entirely overcome such a tendency. A sheet metal plate or disk 66 is arranged above and adjacent the nut 69, and underneath the diaphragm, in order to support the diaphragm.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is z- In a pressure gas controlling device, the combination of the casing having diametrically opposite inlet and outlet conduits and means for controlling the gas from the inlet to the outlet, of a vibrating diaphragm be ing fixed in the upper part of said casing, thereby dividing said casing into weight and outlet chambers, the weight chamber being above the outlet chamber, connections between said diaphragm and said means, whereby as said diaphragm vibrates downwardly said means are actuated to cut oli the gas from said outlet, a weight secured to the upper face of said diaphragm, a dominate weight detachably supported upon the irst weight while the diaphragm is held vibrated upwardly, members formed upon diametrically opposite points of the wall of the weight chamber to support the dominate weight, when the diaphragm is vibrated downwardly, and means adapted to be automatically actuated for by-passing the gas from the outlet chamber into the weight chamber, which by-passed gas combined with the dominate weight, constitute lneans to vibrate the diaphragm downwardly, to actuate the rst means.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER C. SIMMONS.

Witnesses z C. W. FAULKNER, Essrn Lion.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latexrtn` Washington, D. G. 

